


Animan

by Shirolilmoon



Series: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bisexual!Adrian, F/M, M/M, Male!Marinette - Freeform, Misunderstandings, Secret Crush, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:39:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7359748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shirolilmoon/pseuds/Shirolilmoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nino has a crush on Alya, but thinks Alya and Marin are a couple. Adrien tries to help him, without revealing Marin’s secret by inviting the group out to the zoo. The idea of spending an entire day only with Adrien thrills Marin and he happily accepts. Meanwhile, Marin's classmate Kim mocks the new black panther in the zoo, claiming to the zookeeper that he can run faster than it. Enraged by his remarks, the keeper becomes influenced by Hawk Moth and turns into Animan, a supervillain who can shape-shift into any animal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A crush, is a crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Miraculous Ladybug. I took inspiration, and I hope no one will be mad for the things I have written or the changes there have been made.
> 
> This Fanfic is part of a series, and part of the story will not make sense unless you read from the beginning.  
> The fic is unbeta'ed. All mistakes in this stories are mine :)

So, Marin was not happy. There, he said it. He had been Ladybug for a month now. No new Akuma since, Pixelator, which was now over three weeks ago. He had been asked to an official press conference, along with Chat that had been held a week ago, and had officially introduced himself to the people of Paris. They had all welcomed him and Chat with open arms, and now he was unhappy. Why? Because Alya seemed to start having a crush on Ladybug.

“He’s so cool!”

“If I could just talk to him, we’d totally get together!”

“I bet I could make him tell me his identity, if he just would give me a chance.”

Well, to be honest, Marin was pretty sure that it wasn’t a crush, as much as hero worship, but still … He was the one that was Ladybug. Marin smirked. “The way you talk about Ladybug, makes me think you would pick him over me. I’m hurt Alya.” Marin teased. Alya smirked. “Oh, Marin, you know you are the only man for me.” She said and battered her eyelashes. Marin chuckled. At least he could have fun fooling around with her, now that she knew he was gay.

He turned the corner, and almost walked right into Nino, who was standing still. “Oh, Nino. Sorry, didn’t see you there.” He said and smiled at the guy. Nino seemed frozen and looked between the two. “I got to- I mean, I was looking for Adri- um, Bye!” With that Nino ran off. Marin looked after him and frowned. “What was that about?” He wondered out loud. Alya shrugged. “Who really knows when it comes to Nino. That guy have always been strange.”

Marin blinked. “You know Nino?” He asked and looked at Alya. Alya crossed her arms. “What’s that suppose to mean?” Alya asked. Marin blushed a little. “I mean … I know that you know him from class, but the way you talked, it just seemed like … well, you’d known him for longer than a month.” Alya chuckled. “That because I have known him for longer, silly.”

“Oh, I just … I thought you were the new kid.” He said. “I mean, Nino have always been in my class since he started here.” He said. “And I haven’t seen him close to anyone.” Alya chuckled. “Well, I knew him only in elementary school.” She said honestly. “And let me tell you, that guy has not changed. He probably doesn't remember. After all, I’ve become so much prettier.” She moved to brush her hair back over her shoulder.

Marin chuckled. “Well, if you say so.” He said and winked. “Kind of weird to forget a person like you, though.” He mentioned. Alya sighed. “Okay, fine … I wasn’t … I didn’t really act like I do now in front of Nino.” She muttered. “Who actually cares anyway? We are friends now, and that’s what matters.” Marin shrugged. Well, she wasn’t wrong.

“Enough about Nino, though. I have something special for you.” Marin blinked. Wait, what? He looked at Alya, as she rummaged through her bag. Then she pulled out a magazine. Marin blinked again. “Um, why are you … ” He stopped as he actually looked at the magazine he had in his hand.

“Is this … ?” He started, but he couldn’t quite make himself finished.

“The limited edition of the summer Magazine featuring Adrien? Yes it is. I found out my mother had it lying around, and she was happy to give it to me.” Marin looked up at Alya. “Thank you!” He beamed as he hugged Alya. “I could kiss you right now.” He smiled as his attention went back to the Magazine. He knew what his lunch break was going to consist of.

 

“Leo, your heart is going to roar.” Marin read out loud from the magazine. He was reading the horoscope of the week. He turned to the next page and looked at the two pictures of Adrien. “Wow,” he breathed out. What he wouldn’t give for having Adrien look at him like that.

Alya looked over his shoulder and chuckled. “Well, that’s worth a roar, if you ask me.” She said with a winked. Marin chuckled. “Who says, I’m the one who will roar.” He teased.

Unknown to the two there was one guy looked at the interaction with jealousy. “Look at them, they are clearly all lovey dovey.” Nino pointed out. “Well, it’s not like she’ll fall in love with a statue.” Adrien pointed out. “And they could just be two good friends wanting to hang out.” He said.

Nino shushed Adrien, as he was talking way too loudly for his liking. “You know I’m not good with the ladies, dude.” He sighed. “And this is Alya! I have had a crush on her forever.” Adrien frowned. “Wait, for ever, I thought you two haven’t met until recently.” Nino groaned. “I … didn’t recognize her at first. I mean, she is so cool now. She was this shy kid when I met her the last time.” Adrien folded his arms and hummed.

“I don’t even know how to talk to her now that I forgot her once. I mean, do I go up and talk to her about the good old days? Crack a joke? Ask her out to the zoo?” He sighed.

“Ask her to the zoo, are you serious?” Adrien asked, and let out a small chuckle. “Nino, you are way over thinking it.”

“Well, there is this really cool new exhibit.” He mentioned. Adrien took pity on his friend and wrapped an arm around him. “Listen, just be yourself, man.” Nino glared at him. “Easy for you to say, mister model.” He muttered. Adrien chuckled. “Don’t sell yourself short, Nino. You are cool too, trust me.” He smiled. “After all, you are friends with me, right?” He smirked. “Go on, invite her to the Zoo. She’ll say yes, I promise.”

Nino nodded, and turned, but didn’t move. When over a minute passed Adrien looked at him. “You okay there?” He asked. Nino sighed, “I can’t do it, man. What if she thinks I’m lame?”

Adrien patted Nino’s shoulder. “Okay, I got you back.” He said with a smile.

 

“You know, when I asked you to help me, this wasn’t what I had in mind.” He muttered into the headset. “What are you talking about, Buster. I wouldn’t want to ruin your date with Adrien.” Marin groaned as he sat on the bench alone, waiting. He remembered the invite he had gotten at lunch break from Adrien and Nino.

He had accidentally walked into Nino, and as an apology Adrien, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, had offered that they all went to the zoo. And now, Alya was hiding behind a tree, and refusing to come over to him and help him. Come on, he said he liked “zoonimals” when he was talking to Adrien. He needed Alya way closer to him, than in his fucking ear.

“I still think you should be here. What am I even going to tell them, when you don’t come. I’m pretty sure he invited us both.” He pointed out. “Well, I wasn’t the one he apologized to.” Alya said and winked. Marin rubbed the bridge between his eyes.

“Come on, Alya. You are being ridiculous. I don’t even think it was a real date. Nino will be here too.” He muttered. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you being here.”

“Hey Marin.” Marin jumped. He turned and then smiled. It was just Kim and Max. “Oh, hey you two, what are you doing here?” He asked and smiled as the two boys approached him. “We are here to check out the new panther.” Max said. “I’ll try compare our guns.” Kim flexed and smirked. Marin just smiled, and didn’t comment on the fact that the panther probably was stronger than Kim.

“Do you want to come with us?” Max asked. “Um .. I’m waiting for Nino and Adrien, actually.” Marin said and smiled. “Maybe we’ll see you later?” He hoped not, if this really was a date.

 The two of them walked away, when Alya said. “Target at two aclock.” Marin jumped. Oh, no… this was it. He turned and saw … Nino approach him. He frowned. “Adrien is not with him?” He whispered. “That’s weird.”

Nino stopped in front of him. “Hey Nino, isn’t Adrien suppose to be with you?” He asked. Nino smiled. “Well, you also seem to be lacking Alya, Marin.” Marin panicked. See? He told Alya that she was suppose to be here. “Tell him that I’ll be there soon. I had some thing I needed to take care of at home.” Alya said.

“Alya had a few things she needed to do. She’ll be here soon. Told us to just go ahead without her.” Marin said and smiled. “What about Adrien?”

“Had a last call photoshoot, should be done soon. So, should we wait for Alya?” Marin sighed. “Yeah, let’s wait.” He said and sat down. Maybe Adrien would come too. He moved to the head piece and whispered. “What now?” Alya replied. “Ask him if Adrien will come after the shoot.”

Marin looked over at Nino. He looked gloomier than he expected. “So, is Adrien coming after the shoot?” He asked. Nino jumped. “Um … yes!” He said. Marin frowned. “Nino, are you okay? You look a little tense.” Nino looked away. “It’s nothing. Let’s just wait for Alya and Adrien.”

“Okay, Buster. When Adrien comes, I’ll go distract Nino, while you and Adrien get some alone time.” Alya said.

The sounded like a good plan, but there was just one problem. Adrien didn’t come. They waited for like half an hour and still no sign of him. “Well, they sure take their sweet time.” Marin said. Couldn’t Alya at least come out. For some reason the atmosphere was so heavy sitting here with Nino. He didn’t know why.

“You sure Adrien will come?” He asked. “Yes, but since it’s just the two of us right now, I have a question.” Nino said. “I want to ask you if …” Nino looked away. Marin frowned. He was acting weird. “Are you seeing anyone?” Marin’s eyes widened. Nino didn’t know he was gay. He had never told him. “Oh, my god. Nino likes you!” Alya squealed. Marin wanted to kick her. He loved Adrien, dammit! What should he do? “Wh-Why would you ask that?” He asked. Nino looked at Marin. He opened his mouth, but then screams was heard.

Marin turned and saw Kim and Max being chased by animals. “We better ditch this place.” Nino called and started running. Marin nodded and ran too, though he separated himself from Nino to find a safe spot. Tikki came out of his pocket. “You think this is an akuma?” Marin asked. Tikki smiled. “What about Nino’s question?” Marin sighed. “Nino is like a brother, but I’ll deal with it later.”

He turned to Tikki fully. “Tikki, Spots on!” He called. He looked down at himself as he finished. This outfit was still so weird.

He got out his yoyo and quickly caught up with Kim. He seemed to be chased by a panther. Then something strange happened. The panther talked. “You lost Kiddo, what do you think of panthers now?” So, it was an akuma. Kim backed away. “Th-that panthers are the best.” Ladybug groaned. Kim must have pissed someone off at the panther exhibit. Maybe he should have gone with them…

He jumped down between the panther and Kim. “And what do you think of ladybugs?” He asked. “And another black cat?” Ladybug looked up as Chat landed next to him. Had he been in the zoo too?

“I think I’m higher up in the food chain.” The panther akuma said. Ladybug looked at Kim. “Get to safety, we’ll take care of him.” Kim nodded, and started running. The panther growled as it watched it’s prey run, and gave chase, but Ladybug was prepared for that. He got ready with his yoyo and shot it at the panther, trapping it in the string.

As the panther landed on the ground, Ladybug heard a cling. He looked to see the panther was wearing a bracelet around its front paw. He tightened the string, making sure that the panther couldn’t escape. “Chat Noir, the bracelet. That has to be where the Akuma is.”

“You hold him, I’ll get the bracelet.” Ladybug nodded, but before Chat could even get close to the trapped akuma, the other animals appeared.

“Attack!” yelled the panther, and the animals started charging. Ladybug and Chat Noir ran. “We can’t fight them all. We need to put them back into their cages.” Chat supplied. “That’s easier said than done, Kitty.” Ladybug said. He was still running when he spotted Alya and Nino running away from animals too. They took a turn and vanished, while two gorillas followed after them. “We better spilt up.” He said and gave chase to his friends.

He grabbed them easily and then pulled them to a cage. “Stay put, and you’ll be safe.” He said, and slammed the cage door shut. He felt bad for trapping them in a cage, but they were safer in there than out in the zoo.

He turned and ran back in the direction he had left Chat. Without his yoyo, which was still wrapped around the Panther, he couldn’t get to higher ground and search.

He found him stuck in a tree. “Chat! Get us to the roof.” He said and pointed at one of the exhibit roofs. Not even the giraffe would get them there. Chat jumped down and used his baton to get them up. “There are too many out. We can’t trap them all.”

“Then what do we do?” Ladybug thought about it. “The cure. If I get the akuma and cast the cure, maybe the animals will all go back, like when it repairs the damage.” He said. Chat Noir nodded. “Souds like a plan.” He said. Well, it was their best plan. If that didn’t work, they’ have to find another way.

They ran back to where they had left the panther and his yoyo. The yoyo was there, but the akumatized victim was gone. “No, that doesn’t make sense. He should have been able to get out. The string is unbreakable.” Chat picked up the yoyo. “He didn’t break the string, though.”

“Then how did he get away?” Ladybug asked. “I don’t know, but we better find Ki- I mean, that boy before he does.” Chat Noir said. Ladybug blinked. Had Chat just … no it was just his imagination. There was no way that Chat knew about Kim.

He nodded and shot out his yoyo and they hurried.

 

Okay, he was glad that Kim was safe. They had saved him from Animan, as they had decided to call him, after finding out he could transform into any animal, but now Kim was at his parents bakery, if Chat’s radar was any indication. He didn’t know how to feel about that information. He had nearly slipped twice in front of his parents. He had also noticed that Chat had been staring at a family photo of them, but maybe he just recognized Marin in the photo. They had met in the park that one time.

He looked at the sweatband. He placed in on the stair railing and picked up the air freshener. He looked over at Chat, and sprayed him. “Hey, what was that for!” Chat said and turned to him. Ladybug chuckled. “It’s to make sure he can’t smell us. This stuff will cover up our scent.” He said, and sprayed himself too. Chat smiled. “Oh, thanks I guess. I have always wanted to smell like …” Chat took a whiff of the smell. “Ocean summer breeze.”

Then Chat got a devious look. “Let me test if it works.” Ladybug wasn’t really sure what that meant, but nodded. He wasn’t prepared for Chat sniffing at him. “Yup, your small Is perfectly covered.” Chat said with a satisfied smirk. Ladybug frowned. “Next time you have an idea, I’ll say no.” He muttered.

Chat chuckled. “What about this one?” He asked instead and grabbed a box. “We can trap him in this.” Ladybug hummed. “It could work while he is small, but we’ll need something bigger, then he transforms.”

“He’s coming.” Chat said and pulled Ladybug out of sight. Ladybug noticed how his ears flickered just before the announcement. Wait? He could hear with those ears?

In through the keyhole came a ladybug. Chat trapped it in a box, he had picked up. “A Ladybug?” Ladybug said and smiled, actually finding the choice amusing.

However, Animan didn’t stay a cute ladybug, and soon They were chased by a panther again. They ran out of the bakery and onto the street. Ladybug looked for something they could trap the animal in. “The bus!” Chat yelled. Ladybug looked at the direction Chat was pointed. Right, if they could close the doors, they could trap him. He dived inside, along with Chat Noir. Animan dived in right after.

They hid in the back on the buss, behind the seats. Still at the moment they were the trapped ones. They just had to get to the controls, get out and lock the doors behind them. They jumped over the seat, when Animan was in the middle of the bus. Chat pointed his stick at Animan to keep him at a distance, while Ladybug went to the control. “Shit, there is no key.” He called. Chat looked over his shoulder, and that was enough to catch him off guard, as Animan had transformed into a bear.

Chat had just enough time to reflect the first blow, but not the next, as he was smashed to the ground and his baton was smacked out of his hand. Ladybug felt it hit his foot and looked up at what was going on.

He quickly kicked the baton back to Chat, who used its power to extend to push Animan off him. Ladybug trapped the bear in his yoyo string, so Chat could get away, but Animan just transformed back into a ladybug to escape. Then back into a panther. However this time he seemed more tired. “The transformations!  They are tiring him out.” Ladybug said. “Then just let him wear himself out. It’ll make it easier to get his akuma.” Chat said and jumped over to the controls. “Cataclysm.” He called and used his power on the controls. The bus went into a frenzy as all the lights started blinking and the doors rapidly opened and closed. Ladybug and Chat jumped out of the doors in the right moments, but Animan couldn’t time it. Shortly after they had gotten out of the but the control was fried and the doors remained closed, trapping Animan inside, while they were outside.

“Well, it’s not exactly a cage, but I’ll take it.” Ladybug said with a smile.

Animan turned into a bear, but even that couldn’t help him get free. “I don’t think he can bear to listen to that noice.” Chat said, and Ladybug assumed he talked about the noice that the bus had made, when the cataclysm had fried it. “If there is anything that unbearable, it’s these ouns, Chat.” He said with a smirk.

“Now, we wait for the transformations to tire him out. It can take that long.” He said with a satisfied smile, and turned to the bus. Animan did seem more tired, but then something happened.

A T-rex appeared.

“Hey! Since when does dinosaurs count as animals?” Chat said and pointed at the reptile.

“T-rex may have been extinct, but I guess it counts as an animal, if a ladybug counts.” Ladybug said, and took a fighting stand. Still, not much to do as the T-rex when to attack. “Run!” Ladybug called, and they both ran. “If we don’t do something then we’ll be the extinct ones.” Chat called back over the sound of the roars.

They jumped around distracting the Dinosaur, until Ladybug was a good distance away, and dashed behind a car, hiding from sight. He took out his yoyo. “Lucky charm!” He called, and he was gifted with …

“A carjack?” He said and looked at it.

“Too bad he doesn’t have any flat tires.” Chat said and looked up from their hiding spot behind a car. They could see the Dinosaur was looking for them. They had to do something soon.

Ladybug glanced too. “Look at how small his front arms are.” He pointed out.

“So, he’s not the best basketball player. I don’t really see how that is relevant.” He said and looked at Ladybug, as they hid behind the car again.

“I means he has a small reach. If you can get on top of him, where he can’t reach you. You know, a simple distraction. While you are at it, I’ll floor him.” Chat thought it over.  He smiled and crossed his arms. “Sounds like a good plan.” Then he leaned into Ladybug’s space. “I am quite distracting.”

A few inches more and they’d be kissing. What was he thinking!

Ladybug pressed a finger onto Chat’s nose. “Stop it!” He accidentally said in a loud tone, as he was caught off guard. That however attracted the dinosaur.  They jumped away, just at the car was smashed by Animan’s enormous foot.

“Now, Chat!” Ladybug called.

Chat jumped up and landed on Animan’s head. The dinosaur started thrashing, in an attempt to get Chat off him, and that gave Ladybug the time to wrap his yoyo around Animan’s feet. With one pull the dinosaur fell to the ground.

Ladybug jumped over to Chat and smiled. He looked at the Carjack again. “Weird that we didn’t need this one.” He said in confusion. He had needed it the last two times.

“I find it weird he is not changing again.” Chat said. Ladybug looked at the T-rex. “Maybe he is too tired?” He deducted.

“Whatever he is, we best get the akuma, before he gets his energy back.” Chat was about to talk over-

“Wait!”

Ladybug barely managed to pull Chat out of range as the T-rex snapped after Chat. He looked at the jaw and then the carjack.

“I get it!” He said and smiled. Then he charged at the dinosaur.

“Ladybug!”

Ladybug didn’t stop, even if Chat shouted after him. “Enjoy your meal!” He called as he jumped right into Animan’s mouth. Animan ate him whole.

“No!”

Ladybug could hear Chat’s cry outside the mouth, still he had work to do before he did get turned into food.. He positioned the carjack in the mouth and started forcing the mouth open. Once it was open wide enough for him to get out he stepped out of the mouth. Unfortunately, jumping into an animal’s mouth have left him quite nasty. He was covered in saliva.

The worst was the two large pieces of cloth, he had hanging, as they had went further into the mouth. “Gross.” He muttered as he stepped out.

He went over to the amulet and smashed it. He trapped the akuma, and cast the spell.

Luckily, the spell also removed the saliva on him. He smiled and turned to Chat.

“Pound … ” He paused as Chat made no movement to make a fist bump. He just seemed to stare at him. “Um … Chat, are you -”

He was hugged before he could ask what was wrong, or if Chat was okay. “That was a rough ride. I thought … ” He didn’t finish, but Ladybug understood what kind of thought had went through his head. “I’m sorry, Chat I-”

Blip

Chat looked at his ring. He only had a few minutes before he’d transform back. “Wops, I better take my whiskers and run.” With that, Chat jumped away in a hurry. Ladybug hoped he’d find a place where he could safely de-transform before the time ran out.

 

He sighed as he fell onto his bed. That fight had been draining. He was soo tired. He closed his eyes. “Tikki, I never want to move ever again.” He announced. Just then, his phone went off. “Marin, you phone.” Marin groaned. “I don’t want to, Tikki.” He groaned. “It’s Alya.” Marin snapped up. “Shit! I forgot that I left Alya at the zoo! And in a cage!” He reached for the phone. “I bet she’s pissed.” He said and looked at the phone.

“Imagine what she’ll think, if she knew you where the one trapping her in a cage with Nino.” Right, Nino had been there too. He paled a little as he remembered what had happened with Nino earlier. “I just hope she doesn’t try to set me up with Nino out of spite.” He muttered as he accepted the call.

“Hey, Alya. I’m so sorry I left you in the park. I got separated from Nino, and went to look for him, but there was-”

“ _Chillax, Buster. It’s fine. I wasn’t really alone, you know. By the way, are you home?_ ”

Marin frowned.

“Um … I am.” He said. “Why?”

“ _Because I’m totally outside you dad’s bakery. Come down, Buster_.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.” He said and ended the call, before he headed down and went into the bakery, where Alya and … Nino was waiting. “Nino!” He called in surprise. “Wh-what are you doing here.” He said in a slightly more panicked tone. Oh, god. He hoped Alya hadn’t …

“Ladybug locked us together in the same cage all afternoon.” Marin tensed. Right …

“Turns out, we still have tons in common.” Nino supplied. Okay, seemed like they both remembered that they knew each other from before.

“And I know I asked some weird questions, but after talking things through with Alya-”

Alya gave him a slight shove. “We don’t need to give him all the details, Nino.” Marin blinked. Wait. .. he was still lacking the important things here. Was Nino in love with him.

“You see, Nino was being couched by Adrien, so he could talk to me.” Alya said and pointed at her. “Apparently they thought we were an Item.” Marin blinked. “What? Us … but I’m …” He looked at Nino.

“It’s cool, Alya explained. She also told me that you have been crushing on some dude.” Marin paled and gasped. Then he glared at Alya. “You didn’t …” He said in a low tone.

Alya shrugged. “Sorry, Buster. I though he had the hots for you, and wanted to make sure he knew you were off limit.” Marin groaned. No, he didn’t want Nino to know.

“But if you need help, I can totally make it happen.”

“No!” Marin said in a panicked tone. “You can’t tell him. I … I … I’ll think of something.” He said.

“Right … pretend I never said anything. I’ll just leave it to Alya, but if you need anything, you know where to find me, Marin.” Marin blushed. Right, not he had two wingmen. He wondered just how many he’d need to actually get Adrien to notice him.


	2. A bug in a new light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien reflects on the day’s event. He tries to ask Plagg to help him sort out the various feelings in his head. Who knew that the kwami actually had good advice when it comes to love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: This story is a tad shorter than the other ones, and I want to apologize for that. Still ... I can't make them all equally long. There are just some of the stories that are going to be longer than others :) Still, I hope you'll enjoy this next addition to the story.

Adrien removed the transformation a few blocks down and sighed as Plagg landed on his shoulder. “So, what’s with the sudden hugging?” Adrien tensed but a little. “N-Nothing! I was just … It was …” Adrien blushed and ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, I didn’t … ”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Well, since you can’t talk properly, let me tell you what’s going on. That hug was not something a friend would do.” Adrien turned even more red. “Of course it was! I didn’t mean anything more by it. It was a friendly hug, to a friend I thought had been swallowed by a T-Rex, Plagg.”

“Yeah, riiight … Let’s just get home, I’m starving.” Adrien sighed, but didn’t protest. Hopefully Camembert cheese would keep the kwami silent.

It didn’t, but maybe that had been Adrien’s fault. “What are you doing on that site, Adrien?” Plagg asked. Adrien looked at the Ladyblog, and sighed. “Checking up if Alya had added something new after today’s fight, Plagg. What’s wrong with trying to figure out more about our stalker?” Because, let us be honest, that was kind of the definition of what Alya did to Paris’ superheroes.

“Nothing, if you were looking at the Chat Noir things, and the recent events. These posts are from when Ladybug just showed up.” Adrien groaned. “Does it matter? So, I felt a little nostalgic, and wanted to see some past event posts? It’s not a big deal.”

“Sure it isn’t, lover boy.”

Adrien was starting to get annoyed. “Plagg, stop it. Ladybug is a guy. I treasure him as a good friend.” Plagg rolled his eyes. “Is that why you keep flirting with him? I know how happy you get whenever you see him, Adrien.”

That … that stopped Adrien. Wait? Plagg knew? “How can you know?” Plagg grinned. “Well, we are kind of merging together, when you turn into Chat Noir. So, Chat is like the two of us mixed together.” Adrien blinked. Wait a minute … “You mean, that … ”

Plagg sighed. “Okay, let me explain like this. You are Chat Noir, but haven’t you noticed how different you act as Chat?” Adrien nodded. “That’s me. I’m making your real personality shine more through. That is the reason why you were chosen. You and I are not that different.” Adrien frowned.

“I’m nowhere near as lazy as you are.” Plagg rolled his eyes. “You would be if you had been around as long as I have, kiddo.” Then he looked at Adrien. “But about Ladybug.”

Adrien groaned. This conversation was never going to end. “Okay, fine! I might feel a little more than friendship towards Ladybug.” He admitted and glared at the kwami. “There, happy? I just don’t know if it’s love, or even that kind of interest. I mean … ” He hadn’t ever been in love with anyone. He had only known Chloe before he started in school, and he knew for a fact that he didn’t feel anything other than friendship for her.

However the thing he felt for Ladybug was different. He wanted to protect him. Not just because he was a friend. The moment he had thought he had lost Ladybug, his heart had ached. He had felt hollow inside.

The anger that had come to him had been greater than anything he had ever felt before. He wanted to hurt Animan  just to get even for losing Ladybug. He hadn’t cared that Animan was a victim to an akuma.

Was this … was this love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Alright! Four episodes in, only 22 to go! I had planned for guitar villain, but I have decided to put that one later, seeing as I find it kind of random that Adrien wants Marin’s autograph, even if they are not really friends yet. So, because I can change it whenever I want to, I have decided that the next episode will be Pharaoh. Sorry, if I am causing people to get confused. I am planning to get Lady WiFi in earlier than originally planned, since the comments seem to want it, but I need to set up things before I can get the story to a point where I feel like I have enough plot to akumatize Alya into attacking Chloe. It will all make sense soon, promise.


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